Contents
Hello, dear readers of the site! Many of us in childhood heard the phrase: “Look at yourself from the outside, is this how you look, how you behave?”. But it’s hard to take and look at yourself with “foreign” eyes, right? But not for people diagnosed with depersonalization.
This is a syndrome in which a person simply ceases to be aware of himself, to recognize, to perceive himself as a whole. And today we will try to figure out for what reasons it occurs, as well as how to cure it.
What is it like?
Depersonalization refers to dissociative personality disorders. That is, those that are characterized by violations of a part of mental functions, for example, memory, consciousness, perception of one’s own identity.
A person can simply read a book and at some point, instead of letters, see his hands, as if printed on sheets. This will cause confusion, in terms of how to deal with it and what to do in general.
He, as it were, falls into the position of a passive observer, who, in principle, does not care much about what is happening, but at the same time he continues to watch. As if waiting for this other to come out of this situation.
An interesting fact is that he is not able to control his body as before the attack. And he believes that everything that arises at the moment in the head, what is pronounced, and every movement is not his, it all belongs to a completely alien, previously unfamiliar person.
The world around him is two-dimensional, unreal, foggy. And there is depersonalization in every hundredth person. Moreover, about 70% of people experienced its symptoms during moments of stress or intense stress.
It’s just that the disease did not develop further, but turned out to be episodic, situational. Even the pressure of positive emotions can shake our health.
A similar effect is usually caused by narcotic substances, the consciousness under their influence is disconnected from reality.
Types
There are several types of this disorder, depending on the direction of the very feeling of unreality of what is happening.
- Somatic — a distortion of the perception of one’s body. For example, arms and legs may appear to be of different sizes, completely asymmetrical, made of iron or wood. It is interesting that the patient himself understands how irrational his feelings are, that this actually cannot exist. But at the same time, one leg seems to him 45 sizes, and the other looks like a baby’s leg.
- Autopsychic — changes in the perception of one’s own personality, but usually the depersonal is not able to indicate which ones.
- Anesthetic — reduced response to pain. That is, if a person has suffered for a long time at the level of physical sensations, then at one moment they will significantly decrease without taking painkillers.
- Allopsychic — resembles a split personality, when it seems that several people with different characters fit in one body.
Main symptoms
Emotional Sphere
The depersonal loses the ability to feel. Given the fact that the psyche seeks to protect itself by blocking emotions, it cannot do this selectively. That is, leave access to joy, but remove sadness from the settings.
So, either experience the whole flow of emotions and to the fullest, or nothing at all. This is a bit like alexithymia — a syndrome in which a person is unable to recognize and name his feelings, he tends to think rationally, believing that he is completely insensitive.
Feel
Feelings are also dulled, that is, the taste of your favorite food is no longer the same as before. It does not cause pleasure, but rather, neutral, not interesting.
This affects the appetite, and usually a person loses many kilograms in a short period of time. After all, if there is no pleasure, is there any meaning?
Similarly with hearing, the sounds seem muffled, as if from afar and not at all in his reality. The colors around lose their color, turning into equally faded, boring.
Communication with the outside world
The above symptoms lead to the fact that the connection with the outside world is lost. People with whom emotional bonds have been formed become distant, alien.
A person, as it were, understands with his head that there are children, a spouse, parents, he knows that he loves them. But this love is not experienced. He becomes functional, that is, he does something because he knows that it is necessary. And, not based on desires.
Accordingly, distance from people, alienation, even, let’s say, destroys relationships. But that doesn’t bother him. Because the difficulties that arise on his life path no longer affect the strings of the soul either.
Problems seem so minor and no longer a concern that he simply decides to ignore them. As if they exist in a completely different reality, which does not intersect with the one where he is.
And a bit more
- Own body, face seem unfamiliar. And when such a person speaks or moves, he simultaneously watches himself from the side, as if he were a completely different person.
- The processes of memory and thinking worsen.
- It seems that the mood is at zero, and there are no thoughts in my head.
- Time seems to stop, like in films, or something happens like in slow motion. Moreover, all the events that have happened up to this moment, on the contrary, «fly» in my head in a second.
- There is a feeling that there is an invisible barrier between him and the outside world. For example, in the form of a glass cap that suppresses sounds, colors and distorts perception.
- Despite the emptiness «inside», loneliness is acutely experienced, it seems to be total, destructive.
It is important that the patient understands the unnaturalness of his reactions, sensations. He does not consider his condition to be normal, therefore he usually seeks help to return everything to its original places in order to live fully again, rejoicing or sad.
Causes
Stress
Stress is one of the main reasons. It is clear that our psyche is subjected to daily shocks, without it in any way. But if it turned out that they turned out to be extremely strong in their intensity, it takes time to fight them and manage to restore resources.
But, every day, receiving a new blow, it becomes impossible. Why the only way out is protection.
And how is the psyche usually protected? With the help of desensitization, as if by moments devaluing what is happening. To use a metaphor, it is as if he is injecting anesthesia in order to anesthetize the affected area in order to avoid panic, to conduct a sober analysis, to make a decision.
And no one knows what exactly she considers a health threat in order to turn on the protection function. For some, it may be a broken mirror, and for others, the violent death of a close relative.
By the way, lack of sleep is the same stress factor for the body as a force majeure situation at work.
Therefore, take care of your health, go to bed on time, do not stay up late if you need to wake up early. And how to cope with insomnia on your own, you will learn from this article.
Neurobiological theories
There are several theories about the causes of depersonalization, which have not yet been proven, but have a chance of life.
For example, some scientists believe that the human brain produces large amounts of endorphins, hormones of happiness, which include substances similar to opioids.
The main function of opioid receptors is anesthesia, but also an accompanying bonus is the delivery of pleasure when drugs enter the body.
So, if there are too many of them, the pleasure center in the brain simply turns off, in order to avoid problems. Following him is the entire limbic system, which is responsible for the emotional sphere.
And another theory is the idea that the balance of glutamic acid is disturbed, as a result of which changes in the structure of the brain occur.
Outcome of other mental disorders
With depression, bipolar personality disorder, schizophrenia, even epilepsy and other similar diseases, depersonalization manifests itself as one of the symptoms.
That is why it is so important to contact specialists at least for a consultation so that they can determine what is happening with the patient and how to improve well-being.
Overdose
May occur with drug use. And also if there was an overdose of drugs. Therefore, for diagnosis, it is important that the person is not in a state of intoxication.
So, if you have, for example, alcohol addiction, be sure to read the article, which contains information on how to get rid of it, what steps to take and where to go.
Then, perhaps, the symptoms of this disorder will also cease to bother.
Treatment
Treatment should begin at the first sign of manifestation. Since at the initial stage it is quite possible to get rid of this disease.
If you start, then there is a high probability that it will remain forever. And you just have to periodically undergo a course of treatment so that you can lead your usual active social life.
If the condition is aggravated by other types of mental illness, then an individual medication course is directly selected. In some cases, hospitalization is necessary.
But basically it is enough to work with a psychotherapist. Especially if the condition is not severe for prescribing medications.
Usually, during therapy, methods are used that allow you to resolve the internal conflict that led to the onset of depersonalization.
Also, the psychologist helps to discover ways to deal with stress that will really work in relation to the patient.
After all, if one person can calm down only by mentally counting up to ten, then active training will not save another from unnecessary stress.
In general, this diagnosis is not completely considered studied, experts around the world have only recently paid attention to it and have not yet invented effective methods of treatment.
In the United States, antidepressants are mainly used to reduce anxiety and return the psyche to a state of awareness.
In Russia, most often they examine the patient, trying to find the main cause of the occurrence, and even then they select methods that will help them recover and regain control over their body.
Completion
To anticipate this state, we recommend that you communicate with people around you more often, go to the movies, watch them at home, after all. Find your hobby and travel, learn something new that interests and inspires.
In general, switch the vector of attention, as it is called in psychology. Then you will reduce the level of alienation from reality by fully engaging in it.
And be sure to deal with stress. You should not accumulate tension and negative emotions, you see what terrible consequences this leads to.
Take care of yourself and be happy!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina